Reflection plate for backlight unit and backlight unit of liquid crystal display having good thermal conductivity

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a reflection plate for a backlight unit in a liquid crystal display device, and more particularly, to a reflection plate for a backlight unit in a liquid crystal display device, which is made of a thermoplastic thermal conductive resin composition having a thermal conductivity of at least 0.35 W/mK, thereby effectively solving the thermal problem of the backlight unit, and having excellent properties such as shock resistance, heat resistance, mechanical strength, and the like, as well as having excellent reflectivity, thereby improving the durability of the liquid crystal display device. 
     Furthermore, the present invention relates to a backlight unit of a liquid crystal display device, comprising a reflection plate positioned at a lower portion of a lamp of the backlight unit for reflecting the light coming out of the lamp, a supporting rod for the lamp, and a lower plate functioning as a heat sink, wherein the reflection plate and the lower plate are made of the same material, thereby effectively solving the thermal problem of the backlight unit, and simplifying the manufacturing process.

This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/511,628, filed Aug. 29, 2006, which claims the benefit ofKorean Patent Application No. 10-2005-0080738, filed on Aug. 31, 2005,and Korean Patent Application No. 10-2005-0080739, filed on Aug. 31,2005 which are hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes as iffully set forth herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a reflection plate for a backlight unitand a backlight unit in a liquid crystal display device, and moreparticularly, to a reflection plate for a backlight unit in a liquidcrystal display device for effectively solving the thermal problem ofthe backlight unit, and having excellent properties such as shockresistance, heat resistance, mechanical strength, and the like, as wellas having excellent reflectivity, thereby improving the durability ofthe liquid crystal display device, and to a backlight unit of a liquidcrystal display device, of which all the parts are made of the samematerial, thereby effectively solving the thermal problem of thebacklight unit, and simplifying the manufacturing process.

BACKGROUND ART

Unlike a cathode-ray tube, generally, a liquid crystal display (LCD)device does not have a light emitting function in itself, and thus it isrequired that a light emitting device is maintained at a uniformbrightness over an entire screen.

According to the methods of providing the light source, LCDs can beclassified into a transmissive type, in which a separate light and abacklight unit are used, and a reflective type in which an externallight is used as the light source. Of these methods, in the case ofreflective type LCDs, many studies have been carried out because thebacklight unit is not required and their power consumption is low.However, many applications have not been made until now since theirvisibility is low when the brightness is not sufficient from theexternal light source. On the other hand, in the case of transmissivetype LCDs, which have been actively used in recent years, the key factoris to supply the light source with a uniform brightness through abacklight unit.

A backlight unit can be classified into a top-down method system, inwhich a light source is placed at the bottom surface of a liquid crystalpanel to illuminate the entire surface of the substrate, and an edgeillumination system, in which a light source is placed at both sidesurfaces of the unit and light is evenly diffused through a light guideplate and a reflection plate.

Such an edge illumination system backlight unit is mainly used for asmall-sized LCD monitor or notebook computer since the brightness isuniform and the power consumption is low, but a light guide plate isdefinitely required for evenly diffusing the light from the sidesurfaces.

In the case of the top-down method system backlight unit on the otherhand, the light use rate is high because a light source directlyilluminates a substrate, and it is applicable to a large-sized LCD TV ormonitor because the size is not limited. However, it causes a problem ofincreased heat, as a light source is very closely positioned with aliquid crystal panel and a large number of lamps are required to supplythe light source. In the case where the heat produced is too high, itcan be the main reason for inducing a smudge on the screen, therebyshortening the life of a liquid crystal panel. In recent years,particularly as LCDs have become larger and thinner, the thermalproblems of the backlight unit have emerged as a problem to be solved byall means.

The structure of a typical top-down method system backlight unit isillustrated below.

In the top-down method system back light unit, a supporting rod forholding a liquid crystal panel is positioned around a lamp, that is, alight source, and also a diffuse sheet, a prism sheet, and a dualbrightness enhancement film (DBEF) sheet are sequentially arranged at anupper portion of the lamp. Furthermore, a reflection plate forpreventing the light from leaking, an external supporting rod, and alower plate functioning as a heat sink are arranged at a lower portionof the lamp.

As a reflection plate material for the components of such a backlightunit, a white polyester film is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open No.H04-239540; however, there is a problem in that the tint is lowered andthe luminance is reduced due to yellowing of a reflection plate causedby the heat generated from a light source.

A technology for adding various additives and a structural change toimprove the reflectivity, transmittance ratio, or the like, of a whitepolyester film is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Nos. 2002-98811,2002-138150, and 2001-305321, and a technology for using a whiteporosity polyester film to enhance the reflectivity of a reflective filmis disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Nos. 2002-50222 and 2002-40214.Moreover, a technology for manufacturing a reflection plate using anultra-fine foam polyester sheet is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Nos.2003-145657 and 2003-121616.

A technology for the reflectivity and shock resistance of a whitepolycarbonate resin is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,837,757, JapaneseLaid-Open Nos. H07-242781 and H09-176471, and a technology formanufacturing a reflective sheet using a flame-retardant whitepolycarbonate resin is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open No. 1999-181267.

However, in the technology for manufacturing a reflection plate asdescribed above, a method is disclosed for improving the reflectivity,heat resistance, shock resistance, or the like, of a reflection platematerial, but a solution to the thermal problem of a backlight unit isnot presented. In particular, any attempt at solving the thermal problemby applying a thermal conductive resin composition to a reflection platematerial has not been made.

A method for applying a high thermal conductive metallic material suchas aluminum to a lower plate of the backlight unit is disclosed to solvethe thermal problem of the backlight unit in Korean Laid-Open No.2004-0017718, but there is a problem in that a solution to the thermalproblem is obstructed since a reflection plate is positioned between aheating element and a lower plate, and the cost of a product increases.

In order to solve the problems occurring in the prior art as describedabove, it is an object of the present invention to provide a reflectionplate for a backlight unit in a liquid crystal display device foreffectively solving the thermal problem of the backlight unit, andhaving excellent properties such as shock resistance, heat resistance,mechanical strength and the like, as well as having excellentreflectivity, thereby improving the durability of the liquid crystaldisplay device.

Moreover, it is another object of the present invention to provide abacklight unit of a liquid crystal display device for effectivelysolving the thermal problem of the backlight unit, and simplifying themanufacturing process.

DISCLOSURE Technical Problem

In order to accomplish the above objects of the present invention, thereis provided a reflection plate for a backlight unit of a liquid crystaldisplay device, characterized in that it is made of a thermoplasticthermal conductive resin composition having a thermal conductivity of atleast 0.35 W/mK.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, there is provided abacklight unit of a liquid crystal display device, characterized in thatit includes a reflection plate positioned at a lower portion of a lampof the backlight unit for reflecting a light coming out of the lamp, asupporting rod for the lamp, and a lower plate functioning as a heatsink, wherein the reflection plate and the lower plate are made of thesame material.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail.

As a reflection plate of a backlight unit is located very close to alight source lamp, it is effective at solving the thermal problem whenthe thermal conductivity of a reflection plate material is high. Thethermal conductivity of plastic is typically low, usually up to 0.2W/mK, and therefore, even though it is used as a material for thereflection plate of a backlight unit, there is a limit to solving thethermal problem through heat conduction. Therefore, it is also necessaryto have a radiating device using a metal material having high thermalconductivity, or a special structure advantageous for heat dissipation.

Furthermore, for a backlight unit including a reflection plate, asupporting rod, and a lower plate, it is generally effective when thethermal conductivity of a material used as a heat transfer medium ishigh, as well as the area contacting the external atmosphere is large,in order to effectively emit the heat generated in a heating elementsuch as a light source lamp. However, a reflection plate, a supportingrod, and a lower plate are individually separate products, and so theyare typically made of different materials. In the case of the reflectionplate and supporting rod, they are mainly manufactured using a polyesteror polycarbonate resin composition, and in the case of the lower plate,it is mainly manufactured with a metal material having good thermalconductivity because the role of heat dissipation is important. However,even though the reflection plate, supporting rod, and lower platemanufactured by an existing method are used, it is difficult toeffectively solve the heat dissipation problem since the characteristicsof each material are different.

Technical Solution

In order to solve the above problem, for a reflection plate made of athermoplastic thermal conductive resin composition having a thermalconductivity of at least 0.35 W/mK, the inventors of the presentinvention confirmed that the heat dissipation problem can be solvedthrough thermal conductivity in itself even when a radiating device,special structure, or metal material is not additionally used.Furthermore, it is confirmed that a backlight unit including areflection plate and a lower plate, which are manufactured with the samethermoplastic thermal conductive resin material, has good thermalconductivity to effectively solve the heat dissipation problem, and themanufacturing process is simplified to reduce the cost, and as a resultthe present invention can be completed.

Accordingly, the present invention is characterized in that a reflectionplate is made of a thermoplastic thermal conductive resin compositionhaving a thermal conductivity of at least 0.35 W/mK.

The present invention is also characterized in that a backlight unitincludes a reflection plate and a lower plate, which are made of thesame thermoplastic thermal conductive resin material having a thermalconductivity of at least 0.35 W/mK.

The thermoplastic thermal conductive resin composition contains 10-95 wt% of a thermoplastic resin and 90-5 wt % of a ceramic solid.

The thermoplastic resin is not limited, and all kinds of thermoplasticresins can be used. It is preferably used singly or by mixing two ormore kinds of polybutylene terephthalate, polyethylene terephthalate,aromatic polyamide, polyamide, polycarbonate, polystyrene,polyphenylenesulfide, thermotropic liquid-crystalline polymer,polysulfone, polyether sulfone, polyetherimide, polyetheretherketone,polyarylate, polymethylmethylacrylate, polyvinylalcohol, polypropylene,polyethylene, polyacrylonitrilebutadienestyrene copolymer,polytetramethyleneoxide-1,4-butanediol copolymer, copolymer containingstyrene, fluorine-based resin, polyvinylchloride, polyacrylonitrile, orthe like.

Preferably, 10-95 wt % of the thermoplastic resin is contained in athermoplastic thermal conductive resin composition.

The ceramic solid is used to manufacture a thermoplastic thermalconductive resin composition having a thermal conductivity of at least0.35 W/mK at room temperature, and it can be used singly or by mixingtwo or more kinds of boron nitride, silicon carbide, diamond, berylliumoxide, boron phosphide, aluminum nitride, beryllium sulfide, boronarsenide, silicon, gallium nitride, aluminum phosphide, galliumphosphide, or the like, having a thermal conductivity of at least 300W/mK at room temperature.

Preferably, 5-90 wt % of the ceramic solid is contained in athermoplastic thermal conductive resin composition.

The thermoplastic thermal conductive resin composition may furthercontain a filler singly or by mixing two or more kinds such as flake,glass fiber, and a halogen or non-halogen flame retardant. Preferably,5-15 wt % of the filler may be contained in a thermoplastic thermalconductive resin composition.

For the halogen or non-halogen flame retardant, it may be used singly orby mixing two or more kinds of bromine-based carbonate oligomer, Sb₂O₃,and phosphor or red phosphor-based flame retardant, melamine cyanurate,melamine, triphenyl isocyanurate, melamine phosphate, melaminepyrophosphate, ammonium polyphosphate, alkyl amine phosphate, melamineresin, zinc borate, or the like.

The thermoplastic thermal conductive resin composition may furthercontain a white dielectric material for improving the optical reflectionfactor.

The white dielectric material may be used singly or by mixing two ormore kinds of BaSO₄, TiO₂, SiO₂, B₂O₃, Al₂O₃, or the like, and 5-40 wt %of the white dielectric material may be preferably contained in athermoplastic thermal conductive resin composition.

Less than 90 wt % of the ceramic solid and white dielectric material maybe preferably contained in a thermoplastic thermal conductive resin.

The thermoplastic thermal conductive resin composition may bemanufactured by mixing and extruding the above components in a twinscrew extruder. At this time, the barrel temperature of the twin screwextruder should be maintained at 250-340° C.

Advantageous Effects

Preferably, the thermal conductivity of the thermoplastic thermalconductive resin composition is at least 0.35 W/mK. When the thermalconductivity is at least 0.35 W/mK, the thermal conduction rate througha reflection plate is not reduced, thereby effectively solving thethermal problem of a backlight unit, and also it has excellentproperties such as workability, reflectivity, mechanical strength, andthe like, thereby allowing a structure incorporating a reflection platetogether with a lower plate to be manufactured.

BEST MODE

Hereinafter, the preferred embodiments of the present invention will bedescribed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.Although preferred embodiments are disclosed herein to facilitate anunderstanding of the present invention, the following embodiments areonly illustrative of the present invention, and it will be appreciatedby those skilled in the art that various modifications and changes canbe made without departing from the principles and spirit of the presentinvention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims, andtheir equivalents.

EMBODIMENTS Embodiment 1

A specimen 10 mm in diameter and 0.3 mm in thickness, which is made of athermoplastic thermal conductive resin composition comprising 60 wt % ofpolyethyleneterephthalate resin (manufactured by LG Chemical Ltd.) and40 wt % of boron nitride, was prepared.

Embodiment 2

A specimen 10 mm in diameter and 0.3 mm in thickness, which is made of athermoplastic thermal conductive resin composition comprising 60 wt % ofpolyethyleneterephthalate resin (manufactured by LG Chemical Ltd.), 25wt % of boron nitride, and 15 wt % of TiO₂, was prepared.

Embodiment 3

A specimen 10 mm in diameter and 0.3 mm in thickness, which is made of athermoplastic thermal conductive resin composition comprising 60 wt % ofpolycarbonate resin (manufactured by LG Chemical Ltd.), 20 wt % of boronnitride, and 20 wt % of TiO₂, was prepared.

Embodiment 4

A specimen 10 mm in diameter and 0.3 mm in thickness, which is made of athermoplastic thermal conductive resin composition comprising 70 wt % ofpolycarbonate resin (manufactured by LG Chemical Ltd.), 5 wt % of boronnitride, and 25 wt % of TiO₂, was prepared.

Comparative Example 1

A specimen 10 mm in diameter and 0.3 mm in thickness, which is made of aresin composition comprising 90 wt % of polycarbonate resin(manufactured by LG-DOW) and 10 wt % of TiO₂, was prepared.

Test Example

The properties of the thermoplastic thermal conductive resincompositions and specimens prepared in the above embodiments andcomparative example, were measured according to the following methods,and the results are shown in Table 1.

-   -   Heat deflection temperature: Measured based on ASTM D648.    -   Flextural modulus: Measured based on the ASTM D790.    -   Tensile elongation ratio: Measured based on the ASTM D638.    -   Thermal conductivity: Shown in terms of the data with less than        10% error based on three kinds of measurement methods, such as a        plate method (Tech Center, LG Chemical Ltd.), a heat wire method        (Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science), and Hakke        Thermoflixer.    -   Reflectivity: Total reflectance was measured at the wave length        of 550 nm with a spectrophotometer (Shimadzu UV-3101 PC).

TABLE 1 Embodiment Embodiment Embodiment Embodiment Comparative Item 1 23 4 example 1 Heat deflection 90 130 130 120 120 temperature (° C.)Flextural 50000 45000 50000 30000 26000 modulus (kg/cm²) Tensileelongation 5 4 4 70 130 ratio (%) Thermal 0.38 0.4 0.42 0.37 0.23conductivity (W/mK) Reflectivity 93 92 95 98 85 (550 nm)(%)

As illustrated in Table 1, it was confirmed that the specimens inEmbodiments 1 through 3, which were prepared using a thermoplasticthermal conductive resin composition according to the present invention,are superior in mechanical strength such as heat deflection temperature,flextural modulus, and tensile elongation ratio, superior inreflectivity, and have a thermal conductivity of at least 0.35 W/mK, ascompared with the specimen in the comparative example.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

According to the present invention, a reflection plate for a backlightunit in a liquid crystal display device has been produced thateffectively solves the thermal problem of the backlight unit, and hasexcellent properties such as shock resistance, heat resistance,mechanical strength, as well as having excellent reflectivity, therebyimproving the durability of the liquid crystal display device.

Furthermore, provided is a backlight unit of a liquid crystal displaydevice, in which a reflection plate and lower plate are made of the samematerial, thereby effectively solving the thermal problem of thebacklight unit, and simplifying the manufacturing process.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A backlight unit of a liquid crystaldisplay device, characterized in that it includes a reflection platepositioned at a lower portion of a lamp of the backlight unit forreflecting a light coming out of the lamp, a supporting rod for thelamp, and a lower plate functioning as a heat sink, wherein thereflection plate and the lower plate for heat sink are made of the samethermoplastic thermal conductive resin composition having a thermalconductivity of at least 0.35 W/mK at room temperature, wherein thethermoplastic thermal conductive resin composition consists of 60 to 70wt % of a thermoplastic resin, 5 to 25 wt % of boron nitride, and 15 to25 wt % of TiO2, wherein the reflection plate has a total reflectivityof light measured with a wavelength of 550 nm of at least 92% andwherein the reflection plate has a heat deflection temperature in therange of 120 to 130° C. measured by ASTM D648.
 2. The backlight unit ofa liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, characterized inthat it is the thermoplastic thermal conductive resin composition havinga thermal conductivity of 0.35 to 0.42 W/mK.
 3. The backlight unit of aliquid crystal display device according to claim 1, characterized inthat the thermoplastic resin is one or more kinds selected from a groupcomprising polybutylene terephthalate, polyethylene terephthalate,aromatic polyamide, polyamide, polycarbonate, polystyrene,polyphenylenesulfide, thermotropic liquid-crystalline polymer,polysulfone, polyether sulfone, polyetherimide, polyetheretherketone,polyarylate, polymethylmethylacrylate, polyvinylalcohol, polypropylene,polyethylene, polyacrylonitrilebutadienestyrene copolymer,polytetramethyleneoxide-1,4-butanediol copolymer, copolymer containingstyrene, fluorine-based resin, polyvinylchloride, and polyacrylonitrile.